The Cetacean
Sanctuary Research (CSR) —
established in 1990 — is a long-term project focusing on the ecology,
behaviour, feeding habits and conservation of the cetacean species living in
the Pelagos Sanctuary. Eight different species of whales and dolphins live
in the Pelagos Sanctuary in the north-western Mediterranean: striped
dolphins, sperm whales, fin whales and bottlenose dolphins are the most common
marine mammals.
Our cruises
are quite different from simple whale watching.
Every day
will be spent at sea as long as the weather conditions allow it. You will
be involved in various research activities, from sighting shifts during the day
to night watches, in case weather and sea conditions are good enough to
spend the night in the open sea.
You also
help the researchers collecting scientific data, including geographic location
of sightings, dive durations, behaviour, group size and composition. In some
cases, faecal and prey samples are also collected in order to obtain
information on dietary habits of fin whales and sperm whales.
Researchers
and project participants often listen to vocalisations recorded in the field
and help in the processing of digital photos of cetaceans sighted, in order to
recognise different individuals.
Lectures on
cetacean biology and conservation are also given by the researchers. The
skipper is always eager to answer questions about navigation and sailing
techniques.
No previous
experience.
Participants
must also be willing to share housekeeping duties and space on the boat. The
contributions of the participants over the years represented the main funding
source for our research.
Research is
conducted on board our research vessel “Pelagos”, departing weekly from
Sanremo(Italy), from May to October.
“Pelagos” is
a two-masts motorsailer used for the research with citizen-science
participants in the cetacean Sanctuary. The spacious and very
comfortable Tethys boat is managed according to the rules of responsible
tourism; it is equipped with sophisticated instrumentation used for navigation
and the collection of scientific data. “Pelagos” has two masts and can sail and
manoeuvre by means of a fully electronic system, that can be switched to
manual at any time. An inflatable craft is sometimes used to get closer to the
animals. Since 2012 the vessel is cleaned only with eco-friendly detergents
(organic,non-toxic and biodegradable), kindly provided by Biolù..
